Burnaby

The city of Burnaby is backing federal legislation to make it easier to track runaway prostitutes and dangerous customers of prostitutes.

Responding to a request for support by Calgary Centre MP Eric Lowther, Burnaby councillors have agreed to endorse Bill C-397, which would give Crown counsel the option of charging those accused of communicating for the purpose of prostitution with either a summary convictin, meaning only minor fines are handed out and no record of the offender is kept.

Under the proposed legislation, those charged with the offence could be handed an indictable conviction, which carries a stiffer penalty and allows police to fingerprint and photograph offenders.